


The Longest Night

by MirrorMystic



Series: Tailwind [4]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Action, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, F/F, Gen, Pre-Relationship, Spoilers for Ascended Personae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-22
Updated: 2017-05-22
Packaged: 2018-11-03 13:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10968600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirrorMystic/pseuds/MirrorMystic
Summary: Fog in one world, darkness in another... either way, nobody can see a thing.As a typhoon hits Tokyo, the Phantom Thieves face a crisis; and in the shadowed depths of Mementos, Shiho faces herself.





	The Longest Night

**Author's Note:**

> ...This accidentally became a lot longer than I intended it to be. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy the read.

~*~  
  
_Shiho dreams._ _  
__  
__She’s sitting on a subway platform, dangling her legs off the edge. Everywhere she looks, there’s an ominous red light._ _  
__  
__The air is filled with a stifling, dry heat, like the inside of a furnace. Alongside the rush of distant trains, she can hear chains rattling, church bells ringing- and the voices, constant, whispering, chittering, not all of them human._ _  
__  
__She’s not alone down here. There’s a girl here with her. One who looks just like her, although her eyes are a vivid gold._ _  
__  
__This is a dream. She’s had this dream before, recurring, ever since she was discharged from the hospital. The subway platform. The red light. Her other self._ _  
__  
__Her golden-eyed doppelganger glowers at her from across the platform, her features pinched with scorn. She’s wearing Shiho’s old uniform, from when she still went to Shujin. She marches over to Shiho, sitting on the ledge._ _  
__  
__Then she grabs Shiho by the collar and yanks her to her feet._ _  
__  
__Shiho screams as pain flares through her legs. She’s spent from the long walk down here- but she doesn’t remember when, and she doesn’t remember why._ _  
__  
__Her doppelganger holds her up, one-handed, clutching a fistful of Shiho’s shirt. She fixes Shiho with a hateful golden glare._ _  
__  
__“Unbelievable,” her other self growls. “Even now,_ ** _even now_** _… you_ ** _still_** _need someone to carry you.”_ _  
__  
__Shiho’s heart began to race._ _  
__  
_ Not a dream. Not a dream. Not a dream...  
  
~*~  
  
Darkness over Tokyo. Darkness, and sheeting rain.  
  
It was the middle of August, the peak of Japan’s typhoon season. Thunderstorms were to be expected, as disappointing as it was after such a beautiful, sunny day. Any other time, and the rain might have been charming. It could have filled the streets with a fine mist, streetlamps and neon lights taking on a hazy glow. Even a storm like this was a reminder of nature’s majesty, of how something so timeless as the weather could still bring someone to their knees.  
  
Yusuke Kitagawa was an artist. He was someone who could see beauty in all things.  
  
Any other night, this rain could have been beautiful.  
  
But not now. Not tonight.  
  
Yusuke stood out in the storm, ducking his head against the wind. He clutched his phone to his chest, periodically swiping water from the screen.  
  
Yusuke jumped back as a car sped past, splashing dirty water across the sidewalk. People hurried past, seeking shelter, clutching their hoods and umbrellas as if they were life itself.  
  
“Excuse me!” He called out, his voice all-but lost to the howling wind and the rush of rain slapping against the pavement. People scurried past, ducking under awnings, darting indoors.  
  
A hapless office worker hurried past, his briefcase held over his head. Yusuke caught him by the arm.  
  
“Hey! What are you-”  
  
“Excuse me,” Yusuke said, wiping rain off his phone and the photo on-screen. “Have you seen this girl?”  
  
~*~  
  
“Sorry, kid,” Tae Takemi said, sitting back in her chair. “I haven’t seen her.”  
  
“I see,” Akira muttered, pocketing his phone.  
  
It was late, and Takemi Medical Clinic was empty, save for the doctor herself- but then, Akira had known that Tae was a night owl. She was here, ostensibly, to catch up on paperwork, though you could hardly tell by looking at her. Akira was glad to have caught her, either way.  
  
“Why do you think she’d come by my clinic?” Tae asked, blowing across her fingernails. She’d just applied a fresh coat of nail polish- a deep, wine-red. “Is she hurt?”  
  
“No.” Akira hesitated. “I don’t know.”  
  
“If she was, chances are she’d go to a public hospital, not a back alley clinic like mine,” Tae said. “What’s her name?”  
  
“Shiho Suzui.”  
  
“So what happened? Did you knock her up?”  
  
Akira shot Tae a withering look. He was in no mood.  
  
“...I… I’m _kidding_ ,” Tae blinked, taken aback. “Listen. I’ll put some calls in, have some of my medical contacts keep an eye out. I’ve got your number. If I do see her around, you’ll be the first to know. ”  
  
“Thanks,” Akira said, his voice low. “I appreciate it.”  
  
“If she’s missing, you really ought to call the police.”  
  
“It’s complicated,” Akira exhaled. “We-”  
  
Tae’s phone rang. She shot Akira an apologetic look.  
  
“I get it. Look, I gotta take this. Be safe out there- this storm’s a killer. And I hope you find your friend.”  
  
“Me too,” Akira murmured. He gave Tae a nod, and made for the door.  
  
“Takemi Medical Clinic, Dr. Takemi speaking…” Tae’s voice trailed away, and the door swung shut behind him.  
  
He lingered in the alcove of Tae’s building, watching the curtain of rain crash into the pavement. Of all the nights for someone to go missing, it had to be during this storm…  
  
Akira’s phone chirped. He sighed, anxiety buzzing in his ear.  
  
~*~  
  
**[23:15] Mishima** : _Hey, Kurusu. I posted the question on the Phan-Site, but you know how the internet can be. Tons of chatter, nothing useful yet._ _  
_**[23:17] Akira** : _Let me know if you spot anything usable._  
**[23:17] Mishima** : _Got it._  
**[23:18] Mishima** : _So… it’s true, then? Shiho’s really missing?_  
**[23:20] Akira** : _It’s under control. Just keep me posted._ _  
_  
~*~  
  
Akira pinched the bridge of his nose.  
  
_Keep it together. Keep_ ** _them_** _together._  
  
Akira sighed. The rain was coming down so hard it was rising back up as mist, so thick it could well have been fog. And out in the fog, no one could see a damn thing.  
  
~*~  
  
**[23:24] Akira** : _Alright. Everyone check in. Has anyone found anything?_  
**[23:24] Yusuke** : _My apologies, Akira. I’ve found nothing by Kosei._  
**[23:24] Makoto** : _Nothing in Shinjuku._  
**[23:25] Ryuji** : _Nothing by Ann’s place._  
**[23:25] Akira** : _Morgana?_  
**[23:26] Akira** : _...Morgana can’t text._  
**[23:27] Akira** : _Whatever._ _He’s somewhere in Yongen-jaya with me. We’ve got nothing so far._  
**[23:27] Ryuji** : _Shit. For real?_  
**[23:29] Yusuke** : _It has only been three hours. We must persist._  
**[23:30] Makoto** : _Ryuji, wasn’t Ann with you?_  
**[23:31] Ryuji** : _I stayed behind to scope out her neighborhood. She went ahead, said she last saw Shiho in Shibuya. I’m headed there right now._  
**[23:32] Akira** : _Ann, have you found anything?_ _  
_**[23:35] Akira** : _Ann?_  
  
~*~  
  
The rain was relentless. It came down in sheets, blown sideways by the howling wind, gushing through gutters, cascading down roofs. It soaked through clothes, plastered your hair to your skin. It misted in the air, blurring people into shadows. It swallowed up voices in the sound of its downpour.  
  
“Shiho!” Ann called out, her voice stolen by three hours of searching and the sound of the storm. “ _Shiho!_ ”  
  
Ann’s breath hitched in her chest. She took a wavering step and tripped, stumbling into a wall. She leaned against the slick concrete, tears stinging her eyes.  
  
Her legs felt like jelly. But she couldn’t sit down. And she wouldn’t cry.  
  
If she started crying now, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever stop.  
  
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Ann sighed, ducking under an awning. She didn’t much care if _she_ got wet- she was already more or less soaked through- but she didn’t want the hassle of replacing a waterlogged phone.  
  
A dozen new messages in the Phantom Chat. A dozen texts Ann just didn’t have the energy to read. She flicked the notification away.  
  
On her phone screen, she and Shiho were smiling for the camera, arms around each other, making a heart with their hands. In the corner, in the foreground, was the bleach-blonde blur of Ryuji’s hair, accidentally caught in the shot.  
  
Akira had taken that photo, at the amusement park earlier that week. It might as well have been a lifetime ago.  
  
Shiho was gone.  
  
Shiho was gone, when there was still so much left to do. So much left to say.  
  
A tear ran down Ann’s cheek. She gritted her teeth and wiped her face with her sleeve, stubbornly pretending it was just the rain. She clutched her phone to her chest.  
  
“Shiho…” Ann breathed her name like a prayer.  
  
Ann looked up, something catching her eye across the square. There was a white light in the fog, lingering before the stairwell that led down to Shibuya station. A white butterfly, flitting its wings.  
  
Ann stared at the butterfly, her act of providence, pierced by a realization like sunlight through the clouds. She held up her phone, flicked away the insistent notifications still coming in from the Phantom Chat, and tapped an icon- red and black, an eye with a star in the center.  
  
_“Welcome to Metaverse Navigation. Please-”_  
  
“ **Mementos!** ” Ann cried, breaking into a run.    
  
~*~  
  
A strong wind rushed through the tunnel as if a train had gone past. Shiho’s doppelganger growled and let her go.  
  
Shiho winced and stumbled, landing in a heap on the floor. She looked up at the other girl wearing her face, reaching up and smoothing the creases in the collar of her shirt.  
  
“Who are you?” Shiho asked. “ _What_ are you?”  
  
The other girl stared at her in wide-eyed terror, her voice coming in a frightful gasp.  
  
“Fear,” she choked out. Her expression flickered, like an old film reel, abruptly changing back to the seething, hateful glare. “Anger.”  
  
Shiho swallowed hard.  
  
“You’re the voice in my head…” Shiho whispered. “Aren’t you?”  
  
There was another rumble in the shadowed depths. Another rush of air up the tunnel, as if a train was going by.  
  
Shiho’s doppelganger stared at her with those eerie golden eyes.  
  
“ _Which one?_ ”  
  
~*~  
  
**[00:14] Yusuke** : _There’s still no word from Ann. I pray that nothing unseemly has occurred._  
**[00:15] Akira** : _In this storm? Who knows..._  
**[00:15] Ryuji** : _This is killing me, man. Don’t tell me Ann’s missing, too._  
**[00:16] Akira** : _Let’s not jump to conclusions. Maybe her phone just died._  
**[00:18] Makoto** : _Maybe she’s been too preoccupied to check the chat._  
**[00:18] Makoto** : _I know I would be._  
**[00:19] Akira** : _We’ll know soon enough. Ryuji?_  
  
**_Ryuji_** _is typing…_ _  
__  
_ ~*~  
  
“I’m… in… Shibuya… now,” Ryuji read aloud as he typed. “I’ll… look… for- Oof!”  
  
He bumped into somebody and almost dropped his phone. He slipped on the slick sidewalk. A hand darted out of the crowd, yanking him back before he could stumble out into traffic.  
  
“Young man, are you alright?” Asked one man among a crowd of umbrellas waiting for taxis.  
  
“Shit, man, my fault,” Ryuji muttered. “That’s what I get for texting and wa- uh…”  
  
Ryuji blinked, scrunching up his face in recognition. The man who helped him up, a well-dressed man with a receding hairline, blinked back at him.  
  
“Hey,” Ryuji said. “Aren’t you… aren’t you Toranosuke Yoshida? From the Tokyo Diet?”  
  
A swell of pride flicked across Yoshida’s face. “Why, yes, my boy, I am! I’m surprised you recognize me. Not many people still keep up with my politics, I’m afraid.”  
  
“Yeah, my mom talks about you! Weren’t you the guy who called a bunch of voters idiots?”  
  
Yoshida tugged at his collar. “Er, well…”  
  
“And didn’t you lose, like, ten elections in a row?”  
  
Yoshida cleared his throat. “It’s, ah, seven, actually.”  
  
“Whatever. Listen, can I ask you something?” Ryuji held out his phone. “This is gonna sound weird, but... have you seen this girl?”  
  
Yoshida peered at Ryuji’s phone. It was a photo of Ann and Shiho, their arms around each other, making a heart with their hands. It was a great picture of them, but Akira had leaned on Ryuji’s shoulder when he took it and got Ryuji’s hair in the corner of the shot.  
  
“I _have_ ,” Yoshida blinked.  
  
Ryuji jolted upright. “What? For real?!”  
  
“Both of them, actually,” Yoshida said. “The dark-haired girl, I saw a few hours ago today. The blonde, not ten minutes ago. Both of them, I saw going down into Shibuya station. Then they just… disappeared.”  
  
Ryuji stared at him. “What? You’re sure?”  
  
“I know! It was the most peculiar thing-”  
  
“That’s all I need,” Ryuji said. He shouldered past him, running for the station. “Thank you for this, sir!” he called out behind him. “I’ll be sure to vote for you or whatever!”  
  
Ryuji was running. Too fast to text. He lifted his phone to his lips, thumbing on voice commands.  
  
“Call Akira,” he hissed, urgent. The line started ringing. “C’mon, pick up, buddy. Pick up, pick up!”  
  
“ _Ryuji-_ ”  
  
“Akira, it’s me! I’m at Shibuya station. Ann went down into Mementos alone! I’m going after her!”  
  
“ _What?! Ryuji, wait-!_ ”  
  
Ryuji didn’t wait. He ended the call, flicked right, tapped the icon for the MetaNav. He took the stairs down to the platform two at a time, shouting out his destination.  
  
Ryuji took a running jump off the subway platform, red light surging around him.  
  
The metal rails below transformed into a gravel road and wooden tracks.  
  
Ryuji shouldered his metal baseball bat and hit the ground running.  
  
~*~  
  
“What is this place?” Shiho asked. “Why did you bring me here?”  
  
“All the world’s a stage,” Muttered her doppelganger- her Shadow. She was pacing the platform in circles. Her seething anger had changed once again- not to fear, but bitterness, dejection. Her other self stood before Shiho, laying a hand on her head in a hollow facsimile of affection.  
  
“All your life, you thought you were invisible,” her Shadow said. Her golden eyes were hypnotic, shining in the tunnel’s dim light. “And when people finally saw you, it was only because of _him_.”  
  
Shiho shuddered, the trauma sending her vision swimming. She bit down her dissociation, forcing her vision back into place. Her doppelganger was still petting her hair.  
  
“Shiho the headline. Shiho the suicide. Shiho the victim,” her Shadow cooed. “People only ever knew you by association. They never saw you as anything else. They never saw the real you!”  
  
Shiho cried out. Her Shadow grabbed a fistful of her hair and jerked her head back, forcing her to meet her eyes.  
  
“Well, _here I am_ , Shiho! Look at me!”  
  
Shiho’s Shadow hissed, blinking back tears.  
  
“ _Look at me!_ I’m right here, Shiho. Look at me. **_Look at me!_** ”  
  
~*~  
  
Ann ran through the shadowed corridors of Mementos, the tunnels choked with an otherworldly fog. This was a place born of the collective unconsciousness, solidified of people’s cognition. It was made from how people see themselves.  
  
In this fog, no one could see a thing.  
  
Figures struck at Ann from the darkness. She leapt and twirled, coiling her body around their blows. She landed in a crouch, and raised her hand to her mask.  
  
“Carmen!”  
  
A wall of fire cascaded forth, burning away the fog and everything in it. Shadows shrieked in pain. They burned, and died, reduced to charred silhouettes stained into the tunnel walls in soot. Ann kept running, crumbling ash beneath her boots.  
  
She heard a voice, rising up from within her.  
  
_You’ll burn yourself out, burning this bright._  
  
“I don’t care!” Ann snapped, talking to herself. “Shiho needs me!”  
  
_I thought we swore a vow, child. To be free. I thought we would rather die than be bound to another’s will. Yet here you are. How proudly you wear your chains._  
  
“Shut up!” Ann shrieked, her voice ringing in the enclosed space. “I’m down here because I choose to be! Now shut up or leave me alone, Carmen! I’ll do this alone if I have to!”  
  
A pair of Shadows leapt at Ann out of the darkness. Ann uncoiled her whip, lashing one Shadow twice before kicking it into a pillar. It vanished into tar and smoke. The second tackled her and pinned her against the wall. The back of her head hit the tile with a sharp crack, the jolt shuddering through her whole body. Ann gritted her teeth in righteous anger, looping her whip around the creature’s neck.  
  
She twisted, and there was an awful, wet crunch. The Shadow dissolved into a puddle of ink on the ground.  
  
Ann doubled over, her hands on her knees, catching her breath.  
  
_Listen to me, child_ , Carmen’s voice swam up from within. _I am you, wearing a face and guise chosen by the collective unconsciousness. The story of this mask ends in tragedy. Carmen was killed by a spurned ex-lover in a fit of jealous rage. Carmen swore that she would always be free. And then she was killed, because of those she left behind. But that does not have to be your fate._ _  
_  
A white light- a butterfly- flitted ahead of her, guiding her past a fork in the road. Ann screwed her eyes shut, pushing Carmen’s voice away.  
  
“I can… do this… alone…” Ann panted, adamant, pushing forward into the dark.  
  
_Ann!_  
  
“What?!” Ann snapped. She looked up.  
  
A colossal shadow slammed into her like a freight train and hurled her across the room.  
  
~*~  
  
Ann was not a difficult person to find, even in the darkened depths of Mementos. She literally blazed a trail wherever she went, her summoned fire burning through the encroaching fog. The tunnels were choked with the remains of every Shadow unfortunate enough to get in her way- reduced to charred silhouettes and smouldering puddles of ink and tar on the floor.  
  
Ryuji let out a battle cry and slammed his bat into a Shadow’s gut, dropping it to its knees. He gave it his best home run swing, and the Shadow exploded into inky darkness and spatters of gore.  
  
A horde of lesser Shadows scurried down the tunnel towards him, drawn by the sounds of fighting. Ryuji growled, each of these skirmishes eating up precious time.  
  
“Get outta my way!” Ryuji cried out. He reached for his mask. “Captain Kidd!”  
  
Kinetic force slammed down the tunnel, smashing the approaching swarm to a pulp. Their battered and broken forms melted back into darkness, the floor growing sticky with ink and tar.  
  
Ryuji stood there for a moment, haloed with blue light, before the surge of power faded and the sharp ache of fatigue returned to his limbs. He clutched his heart, gasping for breath.  
  
_You have to pace yourself, mate_ , Captain Kidd hissed at him. _You think we’re made of ammo?_  
  
“We’ll sail faster without it,” Ryuji said, trudging forward, his steps unsteady. His metaphor didn’t quite hold up, but Captain Kidd didn’t say anything.  
  
An anguished scream echoed down the tunnel and stopped Ryuji in his tracks. His eyes went wide, a chill running up his spine.  
  
“Ann,” Ryuji breathed. He broke into a run.  
  
_“_ ** _Ann!_** _”_  
  
~*~  
  
A scream echoed down the tunnels. Shiho jolted upright, searching for the noise.  
  
“...Ann…?”  
  
“Why would it be her?” Her Shadow muttered, sulking in the corner. “Why would anyone even notice we were gone?”  
  
Shiho could not help but feel a twinge of pity for her Shadow. There was a bipolar quality to her actions. If she wasn’t yelling threats into Shiho’s face, she was sulking and sobbing, hugging her knees on the floor. At first, Shiho thought her Shadow might have been responsible for luring her down here. But the longer she stayed on this platform, her Shadow alternating between rage and despair, Shiho got the feeling her Shadow was just as trapped here as she was.  
  
Which would make sense. They were the same person, after all.  
  
Shiho exhaled, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her palms. So much was happening. There was so much to take in. Not least of which was that she seemed to be on the subway station to Hell itself.  
  
There was a sharp bang down the tunnel. A crash. A shriek of metal. The sounds of combat, echoing down the shadowed halls.  
  
“No one will come,” her Shadow despaired. “It’s hopeless…”  
  
“No,” Shiho said. “If anyone can save us, Ann will.”  
  
“It won’t matter,” her Shadow sniffled. “The Angel will get her first.”  
  
Shiho stopped, turning to catch her other self’s golden eyes.  
  
“The Angel?”  
  
~*~  
  
The wave of living shadow skipped Ann like a stone across the paved floor of Mementos. She lay curled on the floor, stunned, shaking fingers clutching her stomach, her ribs…  
  
Her mask.  
  
Ann gasped in relief as healing power surged through her veins, dulling her pain from agony to an ache. She rose to her feet, haloed by the soft green glow of Carmen’s spell.  
  
_Still think you can do this alone?_ Her other self spoke into her ear.  
  
Ann shook the thought away. From the tunnel before her, her opponent loomed into view.  
  
The mass of inky darkness that had collided with Ann rose up from the ground and gathered around his shoulders. He was an angel, hovering just above the ground on black-feathered wings. He wore a white robe, stained in soot, beneath a long, heavy coat made of living shadow, that trailed behind him like a bridal train. His hands and feet were wrapped in gauze, and there was a blindfold over his eyes.  
  
His exposed skin was a pale, sickly gray. His dark hair was greasy, long and unkempt. And when he spoke, he sounded just like Ann always thought an angel would: pompous and condescending.  
  
“You’re _early_ ,” he said, gray lips curled in a smile. “Unfashionably so. You’re so early, in fact, that the venue hasn’t even been properly prepared. I know you must be _eager_ to see your friend on her special day, but-”  
  
“Shiho…!” Ann breathed. Her eyes flashed. “Where is she?! What have you done to her?!”  
  
“My dear,” the angel drawled. “Why do you seem so angry?”  
  
“ _You don’t want to_ ** _see_** _me angry!_ ” Ann screamed, fire gathering at her fingertips. In the firelight, her flaxen hair shone like a crown. “If Shiho needs me, I’d gladly burn down Hell itself! Now tell me where she is, you son of a bitch, _before I sear your corpse into the wall!_ ”  
  
~*~  
  
_[Click here to view earlier messages.]_  
  
**[00:22] Ryuji** : _I’m in Shibuya now. I’ll look for_  
**[00:24] Makoto** : _?_  
**[00:25] Yusuke** : _Ann, I presume._  
**[00:27] Makoto** : _I’m worried about her._  
**[00:28] Yusuke** : _I am, as well. It pains me to see her so distressed._  
**[00:30] Makoto** : _I can’t even imagine what she must be going through..._  
**[00:33] Akira** : _Mementos_  
**[00:34] Yusuke** : _Pardon?_  
**[00:35] Akira** : _Ann went into Mementos. Alone. Ryuji went in after her._  
  
**_Yusuke_** _is typing…_ _  
__  
__Incoming call from_ ** _Makoto Niijima_** _..._  
  
~*~  
  
“Makoto,” Akira said, breathless, running through the storm towards Shibuya station, Morgana leaping over puddles and trailing at Akira’s heels.  
  
_“Akira, what’s the plan here?”_  
  
“We have to link up with Ryuji and Ann before they get hurt,” Akira said.  
  
“Who can tell how this storm has affected Mementos?” Morgana called out. “They could be in big trouble!”  
  
_“Where are you, Akira?”_  
  
“Half an hour from the Mementos entry point at Shibuya station. They’ve got a head start, but they’re both on foot. Morgana’s bus form should be enough to catch them…”  
  
_“There’s an entry point here, in Shinjuku. Johanna and I can ride ahead-”_  
  
“No. It’s too dangerous. We have to stick together.”  
  
_“We don’t have time. I’ll be faster if I go alone-”_  
  
“No, Makoto! If you get hurt-”  
  
_“Ann and Ryuji could be hurt right now! I’m going!”_  
  
“Makoto-”  
  
_“Akira,_ ** _trust me_** _!”_ _  
__  
_ Akira sighed. Swallowed.  
  
“...Alright. Go! Bring them home, Makoto! Both of them!”  
  
~*~  
  
A pillar of fire erupted beneath the stained angel’s feet. He recoiled, smoke rising from his form, charred feathers drifting down. His smug expression twisted into a pained grimace.  
  
“...Cheeky…” He grumbled. He rose, splaying his wings out behind him.  
  
A gout of flame smashed him back into the tunnel wall. Then another, then another. He spat out blood- dark, treacly filth- before spreading open his hands in invitation, lips curled into a sneer.  
  
Ann screamed out in wordless rage, calling forward a wall of fire. The angel dove headfirst into the flames, wings angled forward in a wedge. He flung his wings outward, laughing, parting the fire to either side. Spires of inky darkness separated from his cloak and shot forward, a tangle of reaching, grasping limbs.  
  
Ann jumped back, artfully vaulting over the spread- but she was too close, and there were too many. Tentacles of living shadow coiled around her- wrists, arms, ankles. She fought against her bonds, grimacing as frost started to form under their touch.  
  
She screamed out in frustration-  
  
-and was echoed by the war cry of Ryuji’s charge.  
  
Ryuji took a running leap, his bat above his head, shivering with yellow lightning. He slammed it home like crashing thunder, destroying the tendrils of darkness pinning Ann down. The angel recoiled from the strike, pulling tattered tentacles back into the shifting mass of his cloak.  
  
“Couldn’t even wait for me before you got started, huh?” Ryuji asked, offering a hand. Ann took it, rising to her feet, while severed shadow-arms wriggled on the floor and melted into tar.  
  
“Ryuji…” Ann breathed. They both looked ragged, exhaustion plain on their faces. But Ann managed a smile, nonetheless. She turned, glowering down the tunnel at the stained angel.  
  
“This guy took Shiho?” Ryuji muttered. “Man, he ain’t shit.”  
  
“That’s damn right,” Ann said, resolute. “We’ll take him together!”  
  
~*~  
  
Shiho pulled herself to her feet, her aching legs protesting. She limped over to a column and leaned against the wall, straining to hear. Noise drifted down the tunnel- clanging metal, roaring fire, crackling electricity, chipped stone, cracked glass, wet, meaty impacts. Voices, too.  
  
“...No one will come…” Her Shadow muttered, sitting on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. “...No one will come…”  
  
“That’s not true,” Shiho pressed. “Listen! Something’s happening down the tunnel.”  
  
“...no one…” Her Shadow whispered.  
  
Shiho took a deep breath, clenching her fists in resolve. She marched over to her doppelganger and clamped a hand around her wrist. Her Shadow yelped in surprise.  
  
“We can’t give up yet,” Shiho said, dragging her other self to her feet. She ushered her over to the edge of the platform, listening to the echoes carried down the tracks.  
  
“Listen!” Shiho demanded, as they gazed out into the dark. “I know that voice. I’d know it anywhere, and so would you!”  
  
And she did. Her Shadow listened to the sounds carrying up the tunnel, her vivid golden eyes growing wide.  
  
“Ann…?” Her Shadow breathed.  
  
Shiho squeezed her hand.  
  
“She fights for us.”  
  
~*~  
  
Ryuji and Ann fought together like they were born to do it, pummeling the stained angel with force and flame. The angel splayed his fingers and sent the groping hands of living shadow surging towards them, but Ann leapt nimbly out of the way, and Ryuji just barreled through them, smashing them with his bat like they were made of glass.  
  
For a brief, shining moment, it actually looked like they might win.  
  
The angel spread his wings and forced them back with a gust of wind. As if in response, a tremor thundered through Mementos, a gale sweeping through the tunnels as if a train was rushing past. The wind howled with the sound of groaning voices and groping fingers.  
  
A horde of lesser Shadows surged down the tunnel, so newly-made they hadn’t yet solidified their forms- they were just masses of living darkness, puddles of ink with masks and grasping limbs.  
  
Ann and Ryuji cried out their commands just as the wave hit them. Crimson flames washed over the tide of darkness, stopping them in their tracks. Then, kinetic force ripped them apart- their half-formed figures bursting into soot and gore.  
  
Ann stood, haloed in the blue fire of summoning and Carmen’s own scarlet flames. Ryuji stood, pressing his back to hers, their breathing ragged with the surge of power. They stood amid a sea of ruined Maya, the corpses of the lesser shadows melting back into darkness and smoke.  
  
As soon as the blue light faded, they were doubled over, hands on their knees, sweat dripping from their brows.  
  
_Pace yourself, mate!_ Captain Kidd hissed sharply from Ryuji’s heart. _We can’t keep this up!_ _  
__  
__I warned you, love,_ Carmen purred into Ann’s ear. _You’re burning out…_  
  
“Ann,” Ryuji said, breathless. “...I don’t think we can-”  
  
“Yes, we can,” Ann said, panting. “We’re so close…”  
  
The stained angel watched them struggle against their own fatigue. With an arrogant smile, he gestured, as if raising a wine glass.  
  
His cloak of living shadow sank into the ground. It shot across the ground and rose up like a tidal wave, sweeping Ann and Ryuji off their feet. Darkness coiled around them like inhuman hands, trapping them in the angel’s crushing grip.  
  
“Hubris,” he said simply, a cruel smile curling his lips. “Such is the lot of those who rise up against their betters. So. Which of you would like to die first?”  
  
“Fuck you,” Ryuji spat.  
  
“ _Very well_ …”  
  
The angel clenched a fist. The mass of shadow echoed the gesture, closing around Ryuji like a vice. Ryuji gasped, the air squeezed from his lungs, the coiling shadows pressing in, crushing the life out of him…  
  
“I am divine, child. What could two humans do against me? Or two dozen? Or two thousand! Your lifetimes pass between beats of my heart… or between my fingers, as you are, now.”  
  
Ann stared, aghast. Ryuji was choking, eyes wide, without even enough breath in him to scream…  
  
There was a _crack_ -  
  
“ ** _Ryuji!_** ” Ann screamed.  
  
A gout of fire, called forth by sheer desperation, erupted beneath the angel’s feet. He passed through the flames, smoke rising from his robe. He opened his hand, disdainfully dropping Ryuji on the floor. Ryuji curled into a ball, mewling with pain.The angel glowered at Ann.  
  
“The spirit is willing,” he said. He clenched his fist, and the darkness tightened around Ann like a vice. “But the flesh is weak…”  
  
Ann gasped, the breath squeezed out of her body, feeling the creak in her limbs, her ribs…  
  
A shot rang through the tunnel. It struck an invisible barrier around the angel, breaking his focus.  
  
Makoto appeared in a blaze of blue fire, riding Johanna like a comet down the tracks. Her revolver flashed in her hand- two, three, four, five times, each shot striking the angel’s barrier with a sound like cracking glass. The last shot shattered the barrier completely.  
  
Makoto threw herself into a sharp, sharp turn, Johanna’s wheels scoring a crescent in the ground. The glyph shone and exploded with power. The wave of bluish-white flame surged through the tunnel and hurled the angel to the ground.  
  
Makoto revved Johanna, her scarf flying in the wind.  
  
“Let’s go!” she cried.  
  
Ryuji weakly reached up and took her hand, gasping in relief as healing power rushed into him. Ann hesitated, a moment too long.  
  
“Ann!” Ryuji hissed.  
  
_“Ann!”_  
  
Ann froze, her eyes wide. She knew that voice. She’d know that voice anywhere.  
  
“No…” Ann whispered, breathless. “Shiho…!”  
  
“Hubris…” The angel said, rising into the air. Violet light gathered at his fingertips...  
  
Ann felt Ryuji’s arms around her waist.  
  
“ _No!_ ” She screamed and kicked, but Ryuji held firm. “Let go of me, Ryuji! **_Let go!_** ”  
  
“ _Johanna_ ,” Makoto cried. “ ** _Gun it!_** ”  
  
The explosion of violet light ripped through the underground, bringing the roof down on their heads. Johanna and her riders burst out of the smoke and debris, trailing violet flame out into the dark.  
  
~*~  
  
“We were so **close**!”  
  
Ann pounded her fist into the counter so hard it rattled the shelf of coffee cups beside it. They had gathered at Cafe Leblanc after emerging from Mementos. The rain was still coming down, with no end in sight.  
  
“Shiho was right there,” Ann seethed. “She was right down the tunnel! Why did you take us back?!”  
  
“You were outmatched,” Makoto said coolly, arms across her chest.  
  
“We could have taken him!” Ann insisted.  
  
“Or you could have died trying!” Makoto snapped.  
  
“We had him,” Ann growled. She turned to Ryuji. “Ryuji, tell her we had him!”  
  
“Ann, I-” Ryuji heaved a sigh, rubbing the back of his head. “...I don’t know.”  
  
“Whose side are you on?” Ann huffed.  
  
“Ann, please,” Yusuke spoke up. “Try to calm down.”  
  
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Ann snapped. “I went down into Mementos to save my best friend. Shiho was in trouble, and what did you do? What did _any_ of you do?!”  
  
“What we could,” Akira murmured.  
  
“It’s not good enough!” Ann snapped. She whirled around, glaring at Makoto. “And you! _You_ left Shiho in there!”  
  
“That’s _not_ what I did,” Makoto said, her voice low.  
  
“You dragged me away before I could get her out,” Ann seethed.  
  
“You were in no shape to fight-”  
  
Ann stabbed a finger into Makoto’s chest, each word a threat. “You. Left. Shiho. Behind.”  
  
Makoto’s eyes flicked down to Ann’s finger. Her red eyes flashed in the light, vivid, dangerous.  
  
“Takamaki,” Makoto growled. “You want to step back.”  
  
“Or you’ll what, Miss Student Council President?” Ann said, defiantly meeting Makoto’s glare. “You’ll… do nothing? Like the _last time_ Shiho needed help?”  
  
Ryuji stared at them, eyes wide. “Uh… guys…”  
  
Makoto’s voice went cold as ice. “You don’t want to do this, Ann.”  
  
“You know what?” Ann snarled. Her hands curled into fists. “I think I do.”  
  
“Back. Off.”  
  
“ _Make me!_ ”  
  
A sharp bang rang out in the cafe. Everyone reflexively dropped into cover. Akira stood, an airsoft pistol aimed at the ceiling. Even for a replica, the shot in the enclosed space was stunningly loud.  
  
In the dazed quiet that followed, Yusuke silently interposed himself between Makoto and Ann.  
  
Akira looked like he was about to say something, until he heard a chirp in his pocket. He exhaled, annoyed, pulling out his phone.  
  
~*~  
  
**[03:13] Mishima** : _Hey, Kurusu. Sorry to message you so late, but I didn’t think it could wait until morning. This was just posted on the Phan-Site. You’re not gonna like it._  
**[03:13] Akira** : _Not now, Mishima._  
  
**_Mishima_** _sent a picture._  
  
**[03:14] Akira** : _...Okay, you were right. I did not like it._  
**[03:15] Mishima** : _What are you going to tell the others?_  
**[03:15] Akira** : _The truth._  
  
~*~  
  
“This is unseemly,” Yusuke said, taking over while Akira was distracted. “We are better than this. This is no time to be fighting amongst ourselves.”  
  
Makoto glared at him, and he shook his head. Slowly, she unclenched her fists.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Makoto muttered, staring at the floor.  
  
“Me too.” Ann crossed her arms, taking a step back. “I don’t know what came over me.”  
  
“It’s the storm,” Morgana offered, from his seat on the bar counter. “All this rain and fog is twisting up Mementos. Maybe it’s messing with you out here, too.”  
  
“I think the answer’s a lot simpler than that,” Akira said, tucking his phone away. “It’s been a long night.”  
  
Ann suddenly felt everyone’s eyes on her. She huffed an irritated sigh.  
  
“I need some air,” she muttered, stepping out.  
  
Ryuji rose to follow her, but Yusuke stopped him, with a hand on his shoulder.  
  
“Let her go,” Yusuke said gently.  
  
Ryuji wordlessly shrugged Yusuke’s hand off his shoulder, and followed Ann into the rain.  
  
~*~  
  
“Ann… Ann, wait-”  
  
“Leave me _alone_ , Ryuji!” Ann snapped, stomping into the pouring rain.  
  
“Just wait a second, alright?” Ryuji called, following her down the alley. “Just _listen_ to me!”  
  
Ann stopped, turning on her heel.  
  
“What,” she spat.  
  
“Ann, Makoto didn’t drag you away from that fight,” Ryuji said. “I did. Remember? So if you’re gonna be mad at someone, be mad at me.”  
  
“This isn’t about you, Ryuji. At least you went down there to _help_ me!”  
  
“That’s exactly what Makoto did!”  
  
“What?!” Ann scoffed. “You went after me to help. She went after me to stop me!”  
  
“She went after you because she _cares_!” Ryuji snapped. “She cares about you, you idiot! We _all_ do!”  
  
Ann exhaled. She crossed her arms across her chest and looked away. Her temper smouldered and boiled away, leaving only a deep, empty ache behind.  
  
Ryuji took a shaky breath, swiping his arm across his eyes.  
  
“Don’t you get it?” He sniffed. “It fuckin’ _hurts_ to see you all torn up like this. I hate it! But what’s worse is seeing you act so convinced you gotta do this all on your own. We’re your friends, Ann. Let us help you! Don’t go doing stupid, reckless shit like charging into Mementos alone!”  
  
Ann heaved a sigh. She caught Ryuji’s eyes. “You mean like you?”  
  
Ryuji exhaled. He reached up and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah. Like me.”  
  
A tender moment passed between them. Eventually, Ann offered him her hand. Ryuji took it, and Ann pulled him into a hug.  
  
Ann bumped her head against his, like a cat, like she’d done countless times before. It just came naturally. It felt normal; right. The one bit of warmth in the relentless rain.  
  
“I’m an idiot,” Ryuji said, pressing his forehead into Ann’s. “Just like you. But I _know_ you, Ann. Growing up, your parents kept you on a long leash. They did it so you could be free; independent. And, here you are, out here, doing it. I know you can take care of yourself. But that doesn’t mean you have to do everything alone. Not when you don’t have to. And- I dunno. Deep down, I think you know that, too.”  
  
“I do,” Ann said softly. “Maybe not before, but after tonight.....” Ann sighed. “I’m glad you came after me, Ryuji. I know _you_ , too. You’re stubborn as all hell. And you get on my nerves. But you’re loyal, and I admire that about you. I know you’d do anything for your friends. I know that when your heart’s set on something, nothing can get in your way. And I know, if I’m ever in trouble, I can just say the word, and you’ll come running.”  
  
Ann gasped. A white light- a butterfly- flitted in the distance. Raindrops hung suspended in the air, shivering in the echo of voices on the wind…  
  
**_Thou art I. And I am thou._**  
  
_You who charge bravely down the road of strife…_  
  
_You who stand at the gates of Eden, leaving your childish ignorance behind…_  
  
**_...We have heeded your resolve._** ** _  
_****_  
_** An otherworldly wind rose up around them, the duo haloed by an otherworldly blue light. Energy thrummed in the air and surged through their limbs, shining light forming stars over their hearts.  
  
**_Your vows are remade_** _,_ the voices said together.  
  
_I am Seiten Taisei, the hero who challenged heaven itself. Let’s make some mayhem!_ _  
__  
__I am Hecate, goddess of magic and the crossroads. My little witch… let us find the way._ _  
__  
_**_So it is written._** **_The blood of the covenant shall be the ink of thine oath._** _  
__  
_ The voices echoed in their heads, before fading with the wind. Ryuji and Ann held each other, the brilliant blue light of their shared reawakening receding into flickers of azure flame and a tingling in their limbs. They stood together in the rain, gazing at each other, breathless.  
  
“Whoa,” Ryuji said.  
  
“Yeah,” Ann replied.  
  
“...Not a dream, huh?”  
  
“Not unless we both had the same one.”  
  
“That was… intense,” Ryuji said. Ann reached up and slicked her fingers through his hair.  
  
They were still coiled in an embrace. Their hearts were racing, thrumming with the rush of power.  
  
“So, um,” Ann said, smiling for what felt like the first time all night. “Is this the part where we kiss?”  
  
Ryuji rolled his eyes and playfully shoved Ann away.  
  
“One day,” Ryuji shook his head. “Just _one day_ without somebody making it weird…”  
  
~*~  
  
“They’ve been out there for awhile,” Makoto murmured, drumming her fingertips along the countertop. “I wonder what they’re talking about.”  
  
“They’re having a moment,” Akira shrugged.  
  
“They make a rather striking image,” Yusuke mused. “I long for a canvas.”  
  
“It’s just like in The Notebook,” Akira said.  
  
“Pardon?”  
  
“Yusuke, you haven’t seen The Notebook?” Makoto asked.  
  
“I have not,” Yusuke said. “Is that a film?”  
  
“Yusuke,” Akira pressed. “ _You_ haven’t seen The Notebook?”  
  
“I’m… I’m afraid I don’t understand the question.”  
  
There was a jingle of bells above the door as Ann stepped back inside, Ryuji at her heels. Yusuke, Makoto and Akira got to their feet, scraping back chairs.  
  
“Ann-” Akira began, urgently.  
  
Ann paused in the doorway, taken aback by all the fuss.  
  
“I’m… I’m okay,” she said.  
  
“Ann, there’s something I need to come clean about,” Akira said, stepping forward. “The day we went to the amusement park, and Shiho and I were in the Tunnel of Love-”  
  
“This _hardly_ seems like the time,” Makoto muttered, scornful.  
  
“It’s nothing like _that_ ,” Akira grumbled. “Just listen. Shiho said some things that were… they raised a few red flags. So that night, I searched the MetaNav for ‘Shiho Suzui’.”  
  
Akira swallowed hard.  
  
“...That’s when I first found the hit.”  
  
Ann stared at him. “You _knew_.”  
  
“Wait, but… she was fine until today,” Ryuji said.  
  
“That doesn’t matter. I still knew,” Akira said, to Ryuji. He looked Ann in the eyes. “I knew, but I didn’t say anything. So, if you want to take a swing at me, go ahead. I deserve it.”  
  
Ann balled her fists until her knuckles were white. She stepped forward.  
  
Akira flinched. “Wait wait wait, my- my glasses, let me just-”  
  
Ann took a deep breath and sighed. Slowly, she relaxed her fingers.  
  
“...I’m not going to hit you, Akira.” Ann murmured. “I get it. You didn’t have enough to go on.”  
  
“A name isn’t enough,” Makoto said softly. “We didn’t know if she had a Palace. We didn’t know what form it would take, if she did, or what the entry point would be on this side. We didn’t think it would be helpful for you to know about Shiho’s Shadow, if there was nothing practical we could do about it.”  
  
“We didn’t have enough to go on,” Akira brought up an image on his phone, and handed it to Ann. “Until now.”  
  
The image was a screenshot of a forum post on the Phan-Site. Ryuji peered over Ann’s shoulder.  
  
“‘To whom it may concern,’” Ann read aloud. “‘You are hereby invited to a wedding, between one Shiho Suzui and her duty to God-’ What? What the hell is this?”  
  
“This was posted on the Phan-Site half an hour after we got out of Mementos,” Akira said. “It’s a calling card. From the angel who fought you.”  
  
“‘Your merry band of toy soldiers is invited to witness the promotion of a pawn to a queen,’” Ann continued. “‘Come, and invoke my name before the eyes of the dead. You may bear witness. But you may not interfere…’”  
  
Ann trailed off. Her knees felt weak. She sank down into a chair and handed Akira’s phone back to him, numb.  
  
A message from the bastard holding Shiho hostage. It might as well have been a ransom note.  
  
“ _Damn it!_ ” Ann pounded a fist into the table. “Shiho…”  
  
Ann tried to bite back the sob, but she couldn’t hold it back anymore. After seven exhausting, harrowing hours, she had no more drive, no more anger to hide behind. She lowered her head, and her shoulders began to shake.  
  
The night finally took its toll. Ann buried her head in her hands, and wept.  
  
The sight sent a ripple through her circle of friends. Makoto reached out, but hesitated, pulling her hand back. Yusuke frowned and looked away, pensive. Akira swallowed hard.  
  
Ryuji put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. He looked up at Akira, his own eyes wet.  
  
“That son of a bitch,” Ryuji said, his voice cracking. “He called us out. Signed his name, left his address, bold as brass. He’s fucking inviting us in. What do we do?”  
  
Akira stood there, speechless. He opened his mouth; closed it again. Ann’s sobs echoed through the cafe.  
  
Akira exhaled.  
  
“We call it a night,” Akira said. “We all get some rest. And tomorrow, we bring Shiho home.”  
  
~*~  
  
“Y’know, this place isn’t nearly as dusty as I remember,” Ryuji said, his eyes red, making small talk. Akira rolled the spare futon out along his attic room floor. “You’ve been keeping it really clean.”  
  
“I’ve been calling that maid service to do it for me.”  
  
“What? Bullshit.”  
  
“It’s true.”  
  
Ann stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around her shoulders, her hair still damp and stringy from the rain. Her moment with Ryuji out in the storm had soaked them both through.  
  
“Thanks for the clothes,” Ann said softly. Her eyes were still red.  
  
“Yeah, same here,” Ryuji said.  
  
“Any time,” Akira said. “How do they fit?”  
  
“A little tight,” Ryuji and Ann said together.  
  
“I’m sorry I don’t have a perfect chest, like the both of you,” Akira muttered.  
  
“I _have_ been known to work out occasionally,” Ryuji grinned.  
  
“Oh, be quiet. So. Bed? Couch? Futon? Morgana’s already taken the shelf.”  
  
“I’m good wherever,” Ryuji said. “Ann?”  
  
Ann was gazing at her phone, a distant look in her eyes. Ryuji nudged her with his elbow.  
  
“Huh? What?” Ann looked up, quickly locking her phone screen. Ryuji and Akira both caught a glimpse of her background- she and Shiho, their hands forming a heart. Ryuji met Akira’s eyes.  
  
“Is the Boss gonna be okay with us staying tonight?” Ryuji asked, his voice low.  
  
“I’ll deal with it in the morning,” Akira said. “After I dig that airsoft pellet out of the ceiling.”  
  
“Excuse me,” Makoto said, coming up the stairs with Yusuke. “Yusuke and I were about to head out. I wanted to see if anyone needed a ride. Ann?”  
  
Ann blinked, before lowering her eyes. “...I, uh… I can’t go back to that empty house.”  
  
Makoto nodded, somber. “I understand.”  
  
“It’s too late for trains,” Ryuji said. “How are you guys getting back?”  
  
“I was going to ride through Mementos,” Makoto said. “There’s an exit right by Kosei-”  
  
“Take a cab,” Akira said. “I’ll pay.”  
  
“It’s okay,” Makoto said. “In this storm, it’ll be safer going underground. Johanna knows the way.”  
  
Akira nodded. “Be safe. Both of you.”  
  
“You as well,” Yusuke replied.  
  
Ann got to her feet. Again, all eyes were on her, somber, attentive.  
  
It was so much different from home, where it felt like her parents barely knew she was there.  
  
“Makoto,” Ann said. “I’m sorry. About earlier.”  
  
“I get it,” Makoto said. “If I’d been in your shoes, and it was _you_ trapped down there…”  
  
Makoto’s cheeks grew warm. She bit her lip and looked away.  
  
“A-Anyway,” Makoto said. “Take care, Ann. Stay safe. And stay dry- you’ll catch a cold if you keep standing out in the rain. I don’t want your family blaming us if you get sick.”  
  
Ann looked around the room, feeling everyone’s eyes on her, each gaze warm and heavy with care. She met their eyes in turn- Makoto. Yusuke. Akira. Ryuji. Even Morgana, pretending to doze away on Akira’s bookshelf, stealing glances with a shining blue eye. All of them, together, in the middle of the night. All for Shiho.  
  
For _her_.  
  
Ann felt a familiar sting in the corner of her eyes.  
  
“Makoto.”  
  
Ann’s breath hitched. She smiled through her tears.  
  
“My family’s _right here_.”  
  
~*~  
  
It rained all night, only letting up in the early morning. By the time Sojiro arrived at Cafe Leblanc to set up for the day, the fog was all but impenetrable.  
  
Equally impenetrable were the looks on Akira, Ryuji, and Ann’s faces. A cloud hung over them, one just as thick as the fog outside. For his part, Sojiro didn’t say anything- just ladled them plates of curry for breakfast, which they dug into with muted thanks.  
  
Akira ate in silence, keeping an eye on his friends. Ann only picked at her food. She looked exhausted; drained. It hurt to see her like this, so unlike the vibrant, boisterous girl he knew. She kept glancing at her phone, distracted, distant. Ryuji, meanwhile, ate with gusto, as if focusing on his food would push all his other worries away.  
  
Ryuji finished first. He stood up, and nodded politely to Sojiro.  
  
“Thank you for the food, sir,” he said.  
  
Ann got up and echoed Ryuji, leaving her plate half-finished. The two of them stepped outside.  
  
Akira stacked their plates and set them on the counter. He lingered there, feeling Sojiro’s heavy gaze upon him.  
  
“So,” Sojiro began. “Are we going to talk about why you had two friends- one of them a girl- in this place overnight? _Without_ asking me first?”  
  
Akira swallowed. “I’m sorry, sir. There was-”  
  
“An emergency. I get it.” Sojiro nodded, somber. “So. Is it her boyfriend, or her dad?”  
  
“Excuse me?”  
  
“I’m not blind, kid. Your friend Ann there. Her eyes are red- probably crying all night. And I can see the bruises. So. Is it her boyfriend, or her dad?”  
  
Akira looked away. “...She didn’t say.”  
  
“Look at me.”  
  
Akira caught and held Sojiro’s gaze.  
  
“I want you to know that you did a good thing, taking her here,” Sojiro said firmly. “You tell her that she can stay as long as she needs.”  
  
“I will.”  
  
“Good,” Sojiro said. “Whatever else you are, probation or not, I know you’re someone who takes care of his own. Now, you don’t have school today, right? Where are you headed?”  
  
“We’re meeting a friend,” Akira said, and it was the truth, if not all of it. “She’s from school, too.”  
  
“This friend,” Sojiro said. “Is she in some sort of trouble?”  
  
Akira blinked, lowering his eyes.  
  
“Yes,” he admitted.  
  
“Look at me.”  
  
Akira looked up.  
  
“You take good care of her, too, you hear me?” Sojiro said. “Your friends are waiting. Now go on and get this done.”  
  
“We will, sir. Thank you, sir.”  
  
“And would you stop calling me ‘sir’?” Sojiro grumbled. “You’re making me feel old…”  
  
Akira nodded, and smiled.  
  
Sojiro’s concern was touching. It almost made Akira want to tell him what was _really_ behind Ann’s haunted look, what was _really_ casting a shadow over an already gloomy day.  
  
Not that Sojiro would believe him, if he did.  
  
It was time to go. Shiho was waiting for them, somewhere out there.  
  
Akira turned, and stepped out into the fog.  
  
~*~  
  
Ann stood alone in the stillness, fog lapping at the edges of her form. She pulled out her phone. Her phone background taunted her. It was the photo from the amusement park- her and Shiho, arms around each other, forming a heart with their hands. Every time she checked her phone, that picture was waiting for her- a constant reminder of what she had to do. What she _still_ had to do.  
  
Ryuji emerged from the fog and stood beside her. He casually bumped her elbow with his.  
  
“Hey,” he said gently. “You gonna be okay?”  
  
“I’ll be fine,” Ann said. “I have you.”  
  
“You have a lot more than just me,” Ryuji shrugged. “...So. Did you ever check out that gift shop I told you about?”  
  
“I did. Picked out a box of chocolates. Had a nice bow and everything.”  
  
“I bet she’ll love it.”  
  
Ann’s expression fell. She sighed.  
  
“I owe Shiho so much,” Ann said softly. “A home-cooked meal. A box of chocolates. Time. The truth. But I’ve been thinking about what you said, earlier. And I think you were right.”  
  
Ann gave Ryuji a pained smile.  
  
“I left it too long.”  
  
Ryuji gently clapped a hand on Ann’s shoulder. He pulled her close. They leaned into one another for just a moment, before pulling away.  
  
“She won’t have to wait much longer.”  
  
Akira stepped out of the fog, with Makoto and Yusuke close behind. Morgana stuck his head out of the bag slung over Akira’s shoulder, eyes shining an otherworldly blue.  
  
Ann stood, shoulder to shoulder with her closest friends, as the shadowed rows of Aoyama Cemetery stretched out around them.  
  
“We’re all here,” Akira said. “Everyone ready?”  
  
There was a chorus of affirmatives. Akira nodded, resolute.  
  
“Shiho Suzui is being held captive in Mementos, in a Palace that does not belong to her,” Akira said. “Her captor sent us a calling card on the Phan-Site and invited us down himself. He wants a show, and we’ll give him one.”  
  
“Shiho’s due back in Inaba by the end of next week,” Ryuji said. “That gives us eight days to get her out of there before she misses her train and her folks come looking for her. If she’s missing in Mementos, it’s up to us to find her. And if the police get involved, well, that’ll be bad news for all of us.”  
  
“Her captor values her as a hostage,” Makoto said. “He won’t harm her until he gets what he wants- which is us, to ‘bear witness’. He won’t dare touch her until we arrive. But he’ll be ready for us when we do.”  
  
“So all that is left is for us to honor his invitation,” Yusuke said. “The Phantom Thieves shall attend his wedding, and steal his bride.”  
  
“Let’s go kick his teeth in and take his heart!” Morgana cried.  
  
“Oh, I’ll take his heart,” Ann growled. “Right out of his chest!”  
  
Makoto smiled dangerously. “I’ll be with you when you do.”  
  
“We all will,” Akira said. “We have our goal. We have our target. We have our destination. We have our deadline. Let’s get this done.”  
  
Akira caught Ann’s eyes. She nodded, and lifted up her phone.  
  
The photo of Shiho smiled at her from the screen. She flicked the screen right, tapped the icon.  
  
_“Welcome to Metaverse Navigation. Please state your query.”_  
  
“Herald Mastema,” Ann said. “The Sunken Cathedral.”  
  
The world shattered around them. Aoyama Cemetery dropped out from beneath their feet. They fell through the space between the worlds, Ann clutching her heart, Shiho’s name a prayer across her lips.  
  
~*~  
  
Shiho jolted upright in her seat in the church courtyard. She searched the sky in the pre-dawn gloom, looking, listening. She could’ve sworn she’d heard something- a voice in the dark.  
  
It was gone, now. Whatever it was, she couldn’t hear it.  
  
She couldn’t hear anything over the ringing of the bells...  
  
~*~

**Author's Note:**

> It's Shiho's special day, and time is running out. 
> 
> I hope you'll all join me in the next (last?) installment of the Tailwind series: The Sound of Her Wings. And, as always, thank you for reading.


End file.
